


Masks Unmasked

by PetiteLapin



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: (but less in a sexual way and more in a cute moments way), Alois Trancy Centric, Alois Trancy Needs a Hug, Alois Trancy/Everyone, Alois hates heroes, Alois is pretty messed up because of it., Alois just needs all the love!, Alternate Universe, And everyone wants to be the one to give it to him!, Angst and Fluff, Basically Alois pretending that his hold over a demon is a quirk., Basically he makes everyone he comes into contact with BAMF!, Basically his past is the same with a few edits to make it better fit the bnha universe, Because I’m a sucker for that sweet sweet slow burn ;), Because he still has a demon contract, But also there’s going to be so many cute sweet moments to come! :’), But he fakes it pretty well, But he wants to be one, But you probably need to know about My Hero Academia, Crossover | X-over, Delusions, Either way everyone loves Alois, Hurt/Comfort, I swear most of Alois-centric fics are just pwp and this is NOT THAT., Illness (kind of. Or is it more accurate to call it a Curse and it’s side-effects?), In fact there will barely be any of that at all for awhile sorry to disappoint, In other words Alois has impacted their lives in major ways and never realized, It gets dark but there are fluffy moments too!, It’s Alois so... I think we all know his rape and abuse is canon :’(, It’s not that everyone is ooc, Knowledge of Black Butler is Not required, Like seriously get ready for angst, Like they all want to save him, M/M, Manipulation, Meanwhile he’s everyone’s motivation for becoming a hero, Or I guess it’s more like Wannabe-Villan because he isn’t actually a real one yet, Plot Driven, Protective! Class 1-A, Quirkless!Alois Trancy, Self harm in the form of masochistic tendencies, Suicidal Thoughts, The first chapter is a lot, There is no non con between any Class 1-A characters though don’t worry!, This takes place more in the bnha universe than the kuroshitsuji one, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Until he meets them again years later, Villain!Alois Trancy, You can see this as either them falling for him or seeing him as a little brother, and therefore subtly speeds up a lot of character development, but please be aware that Alois ends up affecting a lot of character’s backstories, character driven, emotional hurt comfort, its precious, secretly quirkless Alois
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27774697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetiteLapin/pseuds/PetiteLapin
Summary: What Alois Trancy wants, Alois Trancy gets. And when he decides what he wants is to become the greatest villain that ever lived and take revenge on the heroes who failed him when he needed them most...well he certainly wasn’t about to let the fact that he was born quirkless stop him from achieving his goal. Even if it meant sacrificing his very soul in the process.-Alternatively, when Jim is kidnapped and tortured for years by a famous Pro Hero in secret, upon his death he swears vengeance on all those who failed to save him; too blinded by hero status to see the elder hero for the twisted monster he really was. Masquerading as the now fallen Hero’s “Alois Trancy”, he enters UA as the first step of his plan: To convince the future’s strongest to give up and join him in the dark side. And if that fails he can always just kill them. But keeping his true villainous intentions hidden isn’t easy. Especially at the high cost of using his demonic ‘fake quirk’. Not to mention the fact that he keeps bumping into annoying do-gooders from his past who are still foolishly thinking they can save him! How the hell has he somehow become the inspiration for them to all become heroes when he’s trying to turn them into villains?!
Relationships: Alois Trancy & Class 1-A, Alois Trancy & Hitoshi Shinsou, Alois Trancy & Izuku Midoriya, Alois Trancy & Katsuki Bakugou, Alois Trancy & Shouto Todoroki, Alois Trancy/? (End game not decided yet!), Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Claude Faustus & Alois Trancy, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Masks Unmasked

**Author's Note:**

> For Stel who convinced me that writing would be the best way to take a break from work stress. Hope you enjoy this crossover with your favourite fandom! <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A twisted smile, and lick of wicked lips; I’ve made your misery my goal, but can you taste the grief behind my contempt?_

  
  
  


The dream started off the way it always did; with the young boy of flaxen blonde hair and ice blue eyes laying naked in a bed of rose petals the colour of fresh blood. His pale body coloured in a splatter of bruises as if his skin had been a blank canvas and he had been painted in muted colours of blues and purples. Every part of him should ache, and distantly he recognized it _did-_ the agonizing tearing of his body; blood and a sticky substance he didn’t even want to think about leaking out of him- but this was far from the first time this had happened. And by now the boy had become to numb to it at all. He could dissociate himself from the situation almost as if he was watching all this happen to someone else like a movie. But it wasn’t someone else. And that fire that had once been distinguished from his eyes were ignited anew as he turned his head his head to see an older man smiling adoringly at him. The boy found his own lips twitching in a smile in return. But unlike the nameless figure, his was sharp, cruel, derranged. He was going to make this man pay for what he did. He was going to make them all pay. Every ~~_Hero_~~ No, he refused to call them by that title anymore. Every _Liar_. 

The scene changes then, the dream deviating from what really happened into what Alois always wished he had done. Pale blue eyes would narrow, and in the next instance the youngest was straddling the older, grabbing the knife that had been so mockingly left for him; (as if to prove that even with a weapon Alois was so pathetically weak.) But Alois chose to ignore that, and instead gripped the blade tightly and unshakingly as he held it up to his captor’s flabby throat with nothing but conviction and absolute determination. “I could kill you right now you know…” He whispered darkly, giving the blade a long lick as he pressed closer to the elder’s skin. So close… he was _so close_! 

But his captor was barely phased, and continued to reach for a cigar to light up as if Alois’s little threat was nothing more than rising steam evaporating away. The elder man smoked a few puffs, before calmly putting it out on Alois’s skin, the quiet hiss of sizzling and sickening scent of burning flesh the only sound in the silence as Alois bit down on his lip, refusing to give him the satisfaction of reacting to the pain. 

It was clear the elder wasn’t worried. “Foolish boy, you can’t kill me. Or have you forgotten who I am?” The words were followed by a dark chuckle, before the man would suddenly harshly grab Alois’s face, his disgusting heavy breath rolling over the younger’s delicate features as the dream switched back into accurate memories. Quotes that had been burned into his brain replaying itself on a loop. “I am one of the greatest Hero’s of our time! And you? Well you’re nothing but a broken quirkless toy. If it weren’t for your pretty face you’d be worthless. You should be honoured to have been chosen to keep me entertained for so long.” Alois would spit in his face in response but the original Earl Trancy’s booming laughter followed as he shoved the younger away and got up. His grotesque naked body hanging off of him in all it’s glory “Never forget who it is that you belong to. You’re mine. And you will be till the day you die.”

Well… _someone_ certainly ended up dying that day. And in this recurring nightmares, it had always been Alois himself. 

There were hands around his throat, the knife clattering to the floor, and once the man finally walked out of the room, leaving the boy shackled to the wall and alone on the soiled sheets, Alois would remember smiling.

Words so cruelly spat at him that had once caused tears to sting at the back of his eyes, now only made the younger laugh. Alois laughed and laughed, and laughed some more. Until the sobs were indistinguishable from the ringing of hysteria echoing in his chest. _‘He’s right. How am I supposed to overpower him?’_ Alois would think, smiling sadly as he reached clumsily for the fallen blade, this time pressing the knife against his own chest instead. _‘How long have I wished I could kill him? How many times have I tried to leave?’_ The answer was years. Ever since Alois was first sold to the horrid man as a child. But one can only take so much before you start to break. Before all hope leaves you and you resign yourself to your fate. That’s where Alois was. Broken to the point where he was so close to giving in and accepting a life spent with the monster as his fate. And his captor knew it.

“But just because I can’t kill him…doesn’t mean I can’t kill myself…” The blonde murmured, closing his eyes as the blade sunk deeper into his flesh and the first rivulet of blood dripped down his bruised skin. It felt… freeing… _exhilarating_ even! The thought that if he pushed a little more, all this could end by his own hand! _‘I control my own fate!’_ He thought triumphantly as more blood spilled down his chest. 

This was normally the time when Alois would be able to tell whether he was dreaming of memories or of his own mind’s creation. If it was a memory; Alois would pull the blade away before it got any deeper. For rather than making him want to die; the pain always made him feel alive. It reminded him that despite all of this, despite his miserable life, despite being chained in the secret basement of Japan’s top 3 Pro hero… Alois still wanted to live. “I can’t die yet.” He would whisper aloud, before the dream would normally fade to him opening his eyes with a jolted start.

However if this was a dream born of desires; then Alois would meet a gruesome end. Instead of pulling away, he would thrust it deeper within himself. The blade plunging far enough into his heart to end his miserable existence once and for all. That was his favourite ending: being free of the man despite the heavy cost.

But this time… neither of those things happened. The ‘dream’ continued past it’s normal ending, taking a different route it had never embarked on before.

But before that happened, Alois woke up. And he wasn’t alone.

Staring worriedly in front of him was a pair of heterochromia eyes, and hair to match.

“J̶̧̛͔̦̰̠̪̦̫͓̮͎͇̝͙̲̞́͂̽̇̍̃̿͌̏̒͛̎̅͜͝ͅį̷̫̰͙͎̟͈͇͍̱̔̿̿́͛̋m̵̧̧̡̢̟̪̮̦̘̼͙̫͍̹̝͕̰̹̞͖͛̓̽̈́͆̃͋͒̂̑͌̂̄̊̃͗̉̕̕͝͝͠ͅ Are you okay?” The stranger asked but he wasn’t a stranger was he? ~~So familiar but who…?~~ Alois clutched his head, the name the slightly older boy had called him was muted by static, as if Alois was hearing it from underwater. He couldn’t make it out. 

Alois felt his chest heaving, his head spinning. “Wh-who is that? I’m Alois. _I’m Alois!”_ He cried out, that feeling like the most important thing for some reason. More pressing than questioning who this boy was or why he was in his bed.

“Hey… it’ll be okay, you’re safe now.” The older boy answered, as he ever so slowly moved to place his hand on top of Alois to still his frantic movements. “I promised you didn’t I? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

Alois felt himself freeze, the words hidden deep in his heart flowing out of his parted lips even though his mind hadn’t quite caught up to process what it all meant. “You...came for me? You’re here to save me?”

The touch (so gentle… when was the last time he had felt anyone touch him gently?) had Alois caught between wanting to run away and wanting to lean in to it, so starved and ravenous for that gentle feeling. 

But the more he tried to make sense of the situation, the more it felt wrong. All wrong. This was all a lie! A cry of pain tore from his lips as he clutched his chest, and the two-toned boy opposite him immediately startled in concern. “J̶̡͎͕̟̅͛͗̐̀̍́̊̆͠i̷͉͇̥̣͓̎̿m̴̬̘̖̺͍̊͛̌̿ ? J̶̡͎͕̟̅͛͗̐̀̍́̊̆͠i̷͉͇̥̣͓̎̿m̴̬̘̖̺͍̊͛̌̿! What’s wrong? Tell me where it hurts! Is it your heart?”

As if a flip had been switched, the cries of pain suddenly turned to hysterical laughter. The darkness in Alois had awoken. He had just needed to be reminded that the boy who needed saving didn’t exist anymore.

“Heart? What are you talking about? I don’t have a heart anymore...” Alois would whisper. And then without a second thought, the blonde pounced, straddling the other just like he had the man in his previous dream. 

Alois reached forward and grasped that outstretched hand tightly in his grip, pulling it to rest over his chest (just now realizing it was blood soaked with scratches where he himself had clawed at in a previous bout of nightmare-induced mania.) Alois’s icy gaze stared back at the boy in a glaze, not caring in the slightest that the warm blood was coating his chilled skin. It was almost as if he was daring him to contradict him and mention the beating of his heart the man could no doubt feel under his palm.

“You see? It’s empty.” Alois paused then, his eyes fluttering closed for the softest of moments. Giving his so-called ‘saviour’ only a glimpse of a hidden delicate vulnerability as the younger relished the contact. A mere instant before the expression was masked away, and his unblinking eyes were trained on the young hero his _prey_ once more.

”It’s hopeless. Nothing can fill this gaping hole inside me. Nothing can take away this emptiness.” Like a swinging pendulum that went back and forth from one spectrum to the other, Alois’s expression changed again. Gone was the vulnerability and in its place was a predatory smile stretching across his face as his voice contradictingly took on a honeyed tone. “…But it’s so nice of you to offer me yours in return.” Alois licked his lips, and crawled closer, until he was pressed right up on top of him.

“You know, in this life, Beautiful lies are all I need.” Alois whispered to him, as if bestowing a great secret before leaning down and biting the young hero’s tongue off in a vicious kiss and spitting the wet appendage out on the bed. (After all, all that screaming would only give him a headache.) And he wanted to savour the pain that was happening right in front of him.

So as the older boy began writhing on the bed from the unexpected attack, the panic and fear on his face only served to make hysterical laughter bubble from Alois’s lips “Now now, there’s no need for any of that.” The blonde cooed, straddling the other’s body as he stroked his prey’s cheek. “We were having a conversation weren’t we? I was telling you that I don’t have a heart anymore.”

Alois then trailed a slender hand down his chest, bloody fingertips leaving a stain as they danced across the other’s skin. His eyes seemed to sparkle brighter in dark delight with his so-called “savior’s” every pained shudder and stifled gasp. Revering in the way this lost little lamb was so naively foolish in thinking he had been a wolf. That he had any chances of escaping.

 _No one_ -hero, villain, or human alike- was safe from Alois Trancy’s wrath.

“A fellow liar like you must understand all about beautiful lies don’t you? The ones I tell myself, the ones I whisper in your ear…” Alois leaned in closer and teasingly licked the liar’s earlobe. “Tell me, is there anything more sinfully glorious then a delicious lie?”

The boy made a panicked gurgling noise (the closest thing to a scream he could give) and tried to buck Alois off of him with renewed strength. Though he refused to use his quirk. ~~Why? Was it because Alois had no idea what it was?~~ But Alois merely continued, undisturbed by the frantic struggling. Despite his lithe figure, he had somehow managed to completely overpower him. 

”Shall I tell you one right now?” Alois offered in a husky whisper. “Shall I give you a pretty lie?” The way his prey’s heartbeat began to stutter was an answer in itself, and Alois allowed one last small smirk to toy on his lips for a final time as he followed through with his offer: “You’re not going to die tonight.”

In the next second Alois was thrusting his hand straight through the young hero’s chest, sharpened fingernails digging into flesh and muscle as he ripped out the organ that had been taunting him all this time with nothing more than a sickening snap. 

He laughed at the shrieking noises that tore out of his prey’s throat, his hysterics only rising when the sounds suddenly tampered off. Alois’s laughter was soon the only thing that filled the sudden silence of the room until that too, ended.

Slowly, with the wet organ still in his hand and dripping crimson down his arm, Alois smeared his blood coated finger across his victim’s lips, before leaning down to brush his lips against the corpse in a mock of a final kiss. 

“Now we’re both heartless.” 

.

.

.

Alois **woke up** with a jolt, _for real_ this time. Covered in sweat and a manic smile to mask his pain still painted on his face. He stared down at his hands expecting them to still be covered in phantom blood from the heart he had just dreamt about ripping, but there was nothing. It had been a double dream. Unusual but not completely uncommon. None of it was real.

That didn’t stop him from tasting the lingering warmth of blood on his tongue from that bloody kiss. Didn’t stop him from hearing the scream echoing in his head like a ringing bell. Didn’t stop him from imagining _that person_ from that fateful day all his hope in heroes was destroyed.

And the pain… dear god the pain! The constant twisting in the empty space his heart once filled writhed and hissed like a live den of snakes. Even though he knew it was all in his head, even though he knew his heart was just fine and his pulse beating strong… it didn’t feel like it. Alois felt like that part of him died back then when he was still held captive in the deceased hero’s fortress. The part that made him human. Alois was sure that the day he freed himself was the day he became heartless. “And I was reborn a monster.” He whispered to himself. 

But… what other choice did he have? Alois came to the realization a long time ago that it’s never the heroes that kill the villains, because heroes and villains don’t really exist. Monsters kill monsters, and that is always how the world will work. Alois is now a monster. Sometimes he wonders if he was born that way; if he always had the capacity for darkness buried inside him and all he had to do was unlock the cage… or if the circumstances of his life drove him to creating one. It doesn’t matter. Most days he doesn’t know how to be anything else. At least becoming the devil means he gets to be strong. Get’s to tie the mask so tightly onto his face that he can actually pretend there’s nothing underneath it.

Get’s to ignore how the broken pieces of his sanity are held together by melting glue.

Get’s to take and take whatever he wants without caring about the consequences.

Get’s to laugh and smile with blood on his hands and feel the closest semblance to happiness as he watches another monster die at his feet. (Even if so far it’s only been in his dreams.) Because someday soon, it will all be a reality. And Alois could be as sadistic as he was cruel. (He learnt from the best after all.) 

But there was one problem with all of this…. No one could ever love a monster.

Alois realized belatedly that he was shaking. With trembling arms he brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them before letting out a shaky laugh (or was it a sob? Perhaps the entire time, he had always been sobbing. And the laughter had been just another ‘pretty lie’ he had to tell himself.) He couldn’t be sure anymore. All he knew was that the darkness he was harbouring was clawing its way out. It wasn’t fair… none of it was fair! Why did he always hurt so much and no one else got to experience pain? He wanted justice. Vengeance! Revenge! He wanted everyone else to feel this endless chasm of emptiness and loneliness he felt every night. 

“N-no! I’m not alone anymore! I have Claude now!” Claude, his faithful demon servant who would follow his every order and demand. So long as he was willing to pay the price of his servitude, (and boy was he!) Alois would never be alone again. “Claude!” Alois called out, his voice quivering as the emotionless tone whispered in answer in his mind **_“Yes, your Highness? Do you need me to materialize?”_ **

“Yes. And that’s an order!” Alois whispered, voice choking on a hitched breath he still refused to acknowledge as a sob. The second the dark haired man appeared in front of him, Alois threw himself into his arms, uncaring for the way the man did not hug back, (nor the sharp stabbing pain in his head or the draining feeling that soon accompanied it. Summoning Claude came at a cost.) But Alois didn’t care. So what if it was pathetic? He didn’t have long to live anyway, why not be a little frivolous with his remaining years and enjoy the perks of having someone at your beck and call? 

Alois had been born quirkless, but in his mind he used to have wings. Two beautiful appendages that sprouted out from beneath his shoulder blades like a beautiful exotic butterfly. But even in his imagination, all that remained of them now were a pair of matching ugly scars from where they had been ripped off over and over again when he had been too young and too weak to do anything to stop it.

Being born quirkless? The first rip in his wings.

Being born poor? Ripped again.

Being abandoned and tossed out on the streets? Yet another tear in his wings.

Not being strong enough to protect the one person who mattered most to him? That… that was so shattering Alois didn’t even like to think about it. Needless to say any imaginary wings would have been completely plucked off at that point. 

Whatever little nubs that had been left after that only kept getting further destroyed as more of his miserable life continued. Being kidnapped and sold off while he was still in mourning? Wings ripped up once again. Being “rescued” by a prominent Hero only to be held as his captive for years? Torn. To. Shreds. 

That was fine though. Alois may have once been someone’s glass butterfly; fragile and pinned to their wall on display, but he didn’t feel like that innocent butterfly anymore. And if becoming a full fledge spider that trapped his executioner and devoured him whole was the price of freedom… then Alois would take it. Every. Single. Time.

Claude may have been his weapon, but it was Alois who wielded it. He himself was the catalyst. His own fiery will to live fueling his survival and giving him the strength to gain notice of the demon in the first place. Only a special kind of person could entice someone of Claude’s caliber after all. And Alois had nothing less to lose and _everything_ to give. The day Alois sold his soul to form a contract with the demon Claude Faustus was the day he cursed his own fate. There would be no turning back as he signed his life away. But that was fine… Alois didn’t see himself changing his mind for any reason. Heroes were going to pay. No matter the cost. He would have his revenge on all those that wronged him and turned a blind eye to those they were dazzled by.

And it wasn’t just Heroes who were blind, it was all of society. Life had taught Alois that lesson pretty quick; that people merely saw what they wanted to see. As far as Alois was concerned, it just proved his point that all of them were selfish. All of them scum behind their masks.

Alois hadn’t always been sheltered. He hadn’t always been confined to a cell in a basement like a caged animal. He had once lived on the streets in the poorest part of the city, where the mansion he currently lived in was so far away you’d have to squint just to see its silhouette. When he was taken, nobody missed him. No one even noticed he was gone. (As far as he was aware.) But that short time in the outside taught him that the world was cruel to him whether he was in a castle, or curled up on the dirty cobblestones hoping he could find enough food to steal to keep from starving to death. He was born into a hell and all his life he just kept trading one nightmare for another. He flirted with death, and slept with misery. Agony was his only friend, and loneliness his greatest fear. He learnt that all humans were liars, and no one did anything without wanting something in return. Even the ones who pretended to be nice

Of course Heroes were still his most passionate objects of repulsion. Once upon a time, the young boy had naively believed the misconceptions that all Heroes were good. He ended up learning the hard way that behind closed doors, they were just as twisted and disgusting as everyone else. They just hid it better.

Alois could hardly wait till he’d have the pleasure of watching them rot. And he hoped to be the one to personally send them to hell. “Isn’t that right Claude?” He smirked, the thought alone was still enough to make Alois’s lips curl up in a cruel smile.

You see, Alois had a plan. A _Grand_ plan. Any boring villain could go around killing heroes. But what good would that do when one died, another would simply replace them? Oh no, Alois realized that if he truly wanted revenge, he needed to make an impact on the _future_. And what better way than to corrupt UA’s most promising future heroes and give them a fresh perspective?

All he needed to do was convince those _wannabe-heroes_ that abandoning their foolish ideals and joining the dark side would be so much more fun! Maybe he could even get them to create a new big Villain group together! ...With Alois as the leader naturally. 

Alois felt a thrill of excitement just imagining it and without being able to help it, a wide grin was growing on his face.

 **_“...it is times like these that I am reminded his Highness is still a child. Hoping to make friends on your first day of school?”_ **Claude’s voice cut through Alois’s excitement like a knife through smoke. The cold apathy somehow still managing to get it’s point across as being mocking.

Alois scowled, his smile instantly dropping off his expression. “Don’t be ridiculous. Who would want to be friends with those naive sheep?” Alois sniffed, putting on a false tone of arrogance as he tried to steady himself with his plan. “ I don’t _need_ friends. Not when I have you!” He added starry-eyed, staring up at the man who’s gold-toned irises had turned a ruby red in hunger. Alois understood. He wasn’t going to get the words he wanted to hear unless he ordered them from Claude’s mouth. Fine. 

“Tell me you’ll never leave me!” Alois demanded.

Again the draining feeling and stab of pain filled him, and Alois’s grip grew weak as he fought to stay conscious. No! He wouldn’t pass out until he heard what he had just paid for-! “As our contract dictates, I will not leave you till your soul is consumed.” Claude answered emotionlessly. Alois felt his stiff shoulders retract, the smile back on his face as his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. One would think the demon had just proclaimed his undying love for him with how happy those words had made Alois feel! The relief blooming so strongly in his stomach he was able to get a grip on himself enough to answer back.

“Yes! Yes Exactly! So who needs anyone else when you’ll be with me till the very end!” He exclaimed boisterously, adding on enthusiastically “And I’m no child. Would _a child_ be willing to go as far as I am to achieve my goals? Don’t forget if they turn down my offer then I can just have you dispose of them.” Alois let out a lofty sigh, trying to egg Claude on more to disguise his irritation at the lack of reaction. He knew Claude was always like that but… he would be lying if he said he didn’t crave the demon’s pride. “Can you imagine the hilarious expression of betrayal on their faces when they realize I was only pretending to be one of them? I bet it’ll be beautiful to watch them gasp out their last breaths in pain and fear.” Alois stared down at his hands, so clearly able to imagine the blood from his dreams coating them once more. It only made the younger want to break out into giggles as a manic smile stretched across his face. “They’ll never see it coming.”

Jittery energy was now filtering through him until it was impossible to sit still. Alois refused to think of it as hysteria. He was fine. Everything was fine. This was going to work. It was a foolproof plan! And by the end of it, he will have his vengeance. Not only by corrupting the brightest, strongest, and most promising future heroes on the desolate reality they were too blind to see… but by the pain he’ll cause by crushing their hearts when they realize how ugly the world really is. Maybe then, they’ll understand the true meaning of agony. Maybe then, they’ll understand what Alois has been living with. 

**_“Your Highness, might I remind you that you have your first class starting in a few hours. It might be wise to try and rest.”_ **

Alois nodded but didn’t move away from the body he so greedily still held himself pressed against. Even if there had not been an ounce of genuine care in that tone and that the demon was only saying it so that he could dematerialize and move away from him… Alois could pretend. Just another pretty lie to join the long list.

  
  
  
  


-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case there’s any confusion on Alois’s “quirk” because the story will soon start referencing it a lot:  
> Alois was born quirkless, however he fakes having a quirk with his demon contract. Claude is the demon bound to him by Alois having “sold his soul” for it. However in this fic, this concept is a little less abstract. Meaning everytime Alois orders Claude to do something, Claude gets to take a little of Alois’s life force. The bigger the order, the more of his life span he gets to steal, essentially killing him little by little each time. This is kept track of by the golden hourglass pendent worn around Alois’s neck. The gold sand in the top half represent how much of his life is left and the black smoke in the bottom half represents how much has been consumed by the demon. The “sand” is constantly trickling so long as he is contracted to Claude. Alois is unaware of the exact cost of an order he gives until after it happens, so in theory if he were to give a big enough order, it could kill him the moment the order has been completed. He is constantly gambling that he has enough years of his life to spend on each demand, but he also doesn’t really care if he dies. (So that should give a sense of where his mental space is at right now!) ;u;
> 
> I also really quickly want to touch on the nature of the demon himself. I’m sure you’ve noticed i’ve changed a few details with Claude, but in case you missed it he can communicate telepathically with Alois (or any contract holder). Claude also needs to be “summoned” to take on his physical form. This counts as an order and requires more of Alois’s life energy each time he is brought forth into the physical realm. This is why unless it’s required or the contract holder is in danger, it’s not encouraged to call him needlessly, and why most of their interactions take place in Alois’s mind as opposed to in person. Of course Alois being Alois, completely disregards this and calls on him to appear all the time, but Claude being a manipulative demon will always leave once whatever task he is given is done, so that Alois would have no choice but to feed him with more life force to call him back again. This is also why despite having Claude at his beck and call, Alois is still technically on his own and feels that loneliness as something everpresent. (For now! ;)


End file.
